


Sickening

by Squibblerboo



Series: Sickening [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Attempted Murder, Childhood Friends, Developing Relationship, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Healers, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kidnapping, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Murder, Murder-Suicide, Running Away, Suicide, Tags May Change, Unhealthy Relationships, almost everyone is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:28:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29302728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squibblerboo/pseuds/Squibblerboo
Summary: Five years after the death of Aster Cloud, André Simmons is raising his younger sister on his own after their father is wrongfully convicted of the young girl's murder and sent to his death. He wants to finish what his mother started before her death and, with the help of his close friends, gains information on what truly happened and learns missing pieces of his closest friends' pasts. With eyes everywhere and President Roseanne Cloud's grip on the communities growing tighter, learning the truth could be more deadly than they believed.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original Female Character, Original Female Character & Original Male Character, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character & Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Sickening [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152230





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm Squee and this is my first work here on Ao3!
> 
> Sickening has been a story that's lived in my brain for around four to five years now and it took me around a year to write my final draft that I've been happy with so it's somewhat important to me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! :)

André sat at the table, copying notes from Ivy's healing booklet to his booklet. His father was staring out across the porch at the rain, nearly as still as someone made from stone. His father had just talked with him about if he wanted to be a healer like Ivy when he got older and André wondered if he would be good at it.

Suddenly, the community anthem played, and his father turned over to look at him, motioning for André to turn the radio up. They waited until the anthem stopped and the usual reporter started to speak.

"It has been eight days since Aster Cloud has gone missing and we are sad to say but the young girl has been found deceased with signs of strangulation. President Cloud has sent out a manhunt for the person responsible for his daughter's death and there is a person of interest already. Rounds are going out to look for this person."

The anthem played once more and stopped. André looked down at the table. "Poor Luke...I'll have to go over to talk to him later on."

His father closed his eyes with a sigh. He opened them and touched André's shoulder gently. "Maybe you should wait for a few days, André? Give your friend some time to grieve."

André nodded and looked back over at his notes. His father kissed his head and sighed once more. He looked through the window again and then walked over to the door. André looked over at him. "What are you doing?"

His father looked over at him as he pulled on a pair of rain boots. "I'm going to find your mother and sister. Hopefully, they didn't get rained in somewhere. You know how your mother likes to shop at the community that floods when it rains."

André got up from the table. "Let me come. I need to give Ivy back her booklet anyways." He walked over and put on his jacket and rain boots, putting the booklet in his pocket. His father rested his hand on his back, and they began to walk through the market, nearly to the flooding community when someone called out André's father's name.

"Seven Simmons, stay right where you are and put your hands above your head!"

André looked up at his father as he looked around. "Dad...what's going on?"

His father pulled him close to him. "I don't know, son."

"Seven Simmons, put your hands up!"

He pushed André behind him as André grabbed his jacket. André was pulled sharply away from his father and he cried out. His father tried to grab him but was hit in the back with the butt of a gun, causing him to fall to the ground. His father was lifted and forced into handcuffs. André started crying, yelling out questions.

"What's going on? Why are you doing this to my dad? Please let me go! Dad?" André hadn't realized that he started to cry, gasping for breath as he struggled. The troop that was holding him suddenly wrapped his arms around André's neck and lifted him off the ground. André choked and kicked his legs, trying to fight off the person holding him.

His father struggled in the grasp of the two other troops, trying to save his son. The lead officer, Slate Stem, forced André's father to look at him. "How does it feel to watch your child get strangled? That's how you killed Aster, wasn't it?"

"Let my son go. Now," his father growled. Stem narrowed his eyes but nodded towards the troop holding André. André dropped to the muddy ground and tried to get enough air into his lungs, tears still rolling down his cheeks. There was no one else in the market when André and his father had first come here but now there was a woman with a little girl. André couldn't see her face, but he saw that she was coming this way, yelling.

"What are you doing to my husband?" André recognized his mother's voice and he looked up at her. "André, come here, baby," his mother cooed, flashing Stem a glare. André got up and stumbled to his mother, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Sasha, André's younger sister, pressed herself against her mother while looking at the group with wide eyes.

Stem crouched down in front of Sasha. "Is this the little one?" he asked, stretching his arm out to touch Sasha.

André's mother slapped his hand away, growling. "You think about touching either one of my children again and you will be a dead man."

Stem smirked and looked over at André's father, chuckling. "You sure picked yourself a feisty one. As to what we're doing with your husband, we are bringing him to the courthouse for questioning about the death of Aster Cloud. We believe that he strangled her by the lake."

"But my daddy would never do that!" Sasha said loudly. André felt his mother's grip on them tighten, pulling them closer to her.

Stem chuckled and looked down at Sasha. "Who knows, sweetheart? Maybe your daddy was going to do it to you soon." The troops pulled their father up and away from his family. His father planted his feet.

"Let me say goodbye to my wife!" his father snapped. They let him and he walked over to his family. André's mother wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"I will get you out," André's mother murmured. "You didn't do this."

His father shook his head. "Just take care of our kids. I can handle this." Their father looked down at his two children and he kneeled down. André and Sasha threw their arms around him and he kissed both of their heads. André's father looked over at André. "You're the man of the house until I get back, okay? Watch over your mother and sister." André nodded and his father looked over at Sasha. "You listen to your brother, okay. I love you both." Their father stood up and their mother kissed him again. "I love you, Lyn."

Their mother blinked her deep blue eyes to keep tears from falling. "I love you, too."

The troops then pulled his father away and left them standing on the street, watching as he was pulled away.


	2. Chapter One

×××

André opened his eyes with a sigh. Sunlight streamed into the room; particles of dust visible as they floated around. He rolled over and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's waist, glad that he had spent the night. Shane rolled over and wrapped his arms around André as well. He yawned and kissed André's head.

"Did I wake you?" André asked.

"No," Shane mumbled. "I was up."

André pressed his face into the crook of Shane's neck, glad for his warmth. "Thank you for staying last night. I haven't seen you in a while."

Shane blinked slowly and kept his eyes closed. "I'm glad I stayed, too. We should do this more often." Shane's fingers brushed up and down André's back in a soothing way. André's eyes slowly started to close again, and he felt himself drifting off to sleep again.

"André! Get up!"

André opened his eyes and pushed his pillow over his head, groaning as his sister banged against his bedroom door.

"André, go help your sister," Shane muttered beside him. "She sounds like she needs you."

"Fine." André got up from the bed and pulled his jeans on, grabbing a sweater from his drawer. He walked over to his door and opened it. "What is it, Sash?"

"You know Shane can't be here," she said, leaning over to investigate his room. "They could be doing rounds at any time."

André rolled his eyes and leaned over to block her view. "Ivy would be over before that'd happen." He closed his bedroom door behind him, walking into the kitchen. Sasha followed him into the kitchen, sitting down at the island.

"But still, André," Sasha said. "Maybe Ivy couldn't make it in time, and they found Shane here. You'd either be killed or made a slave, André. Who'd take care of me then?"

"Ivy would," André said. "Plus, we're smarter than them."

"Dad wasn't smarter. Nor was Mom..."

"Dad was wrongfully convicted. Why would he do those things to Aster? You were the same age as her and Dad never did those things to you." André pulled a mug from the cup from the cupboard. "And Mom fought for Dad. She did what was right, Sash."

"But Mom died because of it! We are orphans now because of--"

"Because Dad was wrongfully convicted, and Mom died for Dad. I just wish you'd understand some of these things."

"I do understand these things," Sasha said angrily. "You can be killed or become a slave because of your relationship with Shane. Ivy, you, me--maybe even Shane, Luke, Bee, Splash, Bramble, and Echo--could become slaves or killed!"

André turned around. He walked towards his sister and leaned over the island. "I will have Shane leave, okay? Will that make you happy, little one?"

"I'm already gonna go."

The two jumped at the sound of Shane's voice. André looked over at him. "Use the backdoor and to the Drain. No one will see you."

Shane nodded and walked over to André, pulling him into a side hug and kissing the side of his head. "Goodbye." He started to move towards the door, but André grabbed his hand.

"Please be careful," he whispered.

Shane gave him a gentle kiss, pulling him into a tight hug. André grabbed his biceps and Shane rested his forehead against André's when he pulled back. "You be careful, too. I love you too much for you to get hurt."

"I will and I love you, too," André murmured, kissing Shane again.

"Bye, Shane," Sasha said loudly, interrupting the moment, and gave her brother's boyfriend a small wave. Shane dipped his head and opened the backdoor, running across the yard to the Drain hidden in the forest. André watched him leave before turning back to his little sister.

"Nothing will happen, okay?" André said, grabbing at Sasha's hand. "I promise."

Sasha gave him a look. "You promise?"

"I promise."


	3. Chapter Two

×××

Luke felt Bee's hand run through his hair and he nestled his face deeper into a pillow, wrapping his arms tightly around it. "Why are you up this early?"

"I'm always up this early," Bee murmured, stopping her hand midway through his hair.

"Well, I think you should look into sleeping in some time." He rolled his baby blue eyes and pushed his face into his pillow again. Bee was quiet for a moment and Luke nearly drifted back to sleep before the bed shifted violently underneath him s Bee hopped out of it.

"Get up, Luke! Let's get out for a bit." She picked up a pillow that had dropped to the floor, throwing it at Luke. It hit him in the back of the head and he groaned loudly.

"Why? It's still early morning yet, Bee. Nothing's open." Luke adjusted his face against his pillow and pulled the blankets up around him more.

"Who cares? You're the leader around here and you can do whatever you please." Bee pulled on her shorts and pulled off Luke's hoodie, grabbing her orange-and-white-striped shirt off the ground before pulling it on. Bee walked over to the bed and pulled the blankets off Luke. Luke groaned loudly again. "Oh, come on, Luke! I don't want to be in bed all day."

"Well I do," Luke murmured. "It's nice and warm and I don't have to face the world outside." Luke sat up and ran his fingers through his white-blond hair. "And that's not how it works, Bee. Roseanne's the leader; I'm just the younger brother." He sighed heavily as he grabbed the hoodie Bee took off and pulled it on. "Everything would be so much better if I hadn't suggested we play hide-and-seek. Aster and my dad would be alive, and we wouldn't all be separated. What Roseanne is doing is cruelty to hundreds of innocent people. When I become the next leader--or Roseanne gets some sense knocked into her--everything will hopefully go back to the way it was."

Bee wrapped her arms around Luke, and he pulled her tightly against him. "I know, Luke. It's not your fault for what happened to Aster or your dad. We'll find Aster's killer and maybe Roseanne will stop what she's doing. André will get the peace he wants for parents' death and we'll all be together again."

Luke nestled his cheek against Bee's ginger hair. "Thank you, Bee. This is why I love you."


End file.
